Going to Iowa

So I had the distinct pleasure of going home to Iowa this weekend. It's always somewhat of a question mark for me...meaning trips home are difficult in many ways. The first difficulty is the fact that it takes me a day and a half to acclimate to my parents. I love my parents. They would lay down in the road for me. Sometimes they're just a little tricky to navigate. So, by the time I'm ready to engage in quality conversation, it's about time to go home. This fact makes me a little sad. The second difficulty is that there's always the chance that I might run into my ex-husband. I do not want to do this. Spending six precious years of my young life with him was enough punishment. I do not wish to spend another nanosecond in his presence. The third difficulty is that I might run into people I went to school with. Now, this really shouldn't be an issue, but I have made it into one. See, I was a snob in high school. I was also a band nerd. I'm somewhat embarassed of my behavior back then, as I would spout my mouth off to just about anyone who came across my path, including my shop teacher, but that's another story. Anyway, I'm a totally different person than I was back then, and I don't want to be judged for what I was. That's what I fear.
The other interesting thing that is happening in our family dynamics is that my parents are uber-excited to move to Fargo, or wherever Chris and I end up living after this last course of job interviews. It's pretty much all they talk about. And even though it was I who brought up the whole idea, I'm starting to wonder if it's the best thing. And then there's Chris. He's not wild about the thought of his inlaws living so close to him. Frankly, I don't blame him. I wouldn't want his parents to live that close to us, either! There's one thing you have to consider, though. I am my parents' only child, whereas Chris has a brother and a sister. This means that when it comes time to take care of old parents, I'm the only one there to do the job! Chris's family has other options if need be. It's insane to think of taking care of old parents.
The other thing my parents are uber-excited about is grandchildren. Since we've been talking about this over the past few months, they seem to think having grandchildren would be the best thing since sliced bread. Chris has the funny idea that my parents will spoil the grandchildren so much that we won't be able to control them! I think that might be blowing it a little out of proporation...
All this said, I spent a fair amount of time in my 2002 Dodge Stratus this weekend, with my husband. I'm trying to figure out if sitting in the car with your spouse, and not having much to talk about is a lack of communication, a lack of creativity, or a lack of something else, of which I'm not aware of yet. Or, maybe it speaks to the level of comfort a couple feels with one another. I'd like to think it's that, and none of the others.
Maybe I need to make a book of "things to talk about in the car while driving long distances with your spouse." I could include deer skulls filled with ketchup. :)